A debt consolidation loan streamlines existing debts into one new loan. Most unsecured consumer debt can be consolidated, including credit cards, medical bills, utility bills, payday loans, student loans, taxes and bills sent to a collection agency. Having one monthly payment instead of several can make it easier to get your finances in order and could allow you to save money on interest fees. When shopping around, it’s essential to find a loan with a lower interest rate and better terms than the original debts.
If you are running out of time on your intro APR and you still have a balance, don’t sweat it. At least two months before your existing intro period ends, start looking for a new balance transfer offer from a different issuer. Transfer any remaining balance to the card with the new 0% intro offer. This can provide you with the additional time needed to pay off your balance. Ideally, look for a card that has a 0% intro APR and also no balance transfer fee.
A personal loan is for a set period of time; three to five years is common. It's important to understand that your monthly payments will be a fixed amount. That's a bit different than a credit card balance, where you can vary your payments month-to-month as long as you hit the minimum amount due. And a credit card does not have a fixed payback period.

“If you have to choose between debts to pay, skip the credit card bill because it's unsecured and a creditor can't repossess anything. Luckily, credit card delinquencies hurt credit scores less than bigger debts, such as home or auto loans,” says Sarah Davies, senior vice president of analytics, product management and research for VantageScore Solutions.

“A good credit repair company will scrub questionable credit report items against other laws — like the Fair Credit Billing Act, which regulates original creditors; the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which oversees collection agencies; and others that address medical illness, military service, student status and other life events,” Padawer said.
bad idea they kill you in fees and unsecured does nothing for your credit . I found a jewery store on line that has you put %50 down and then make payment on the rest . and they report it . unsucured credit cards are bad news they don't help just make the banks alot of money . for example the person said transfer to a better card and leave the old one open . yeah if you want to pay a bunch of monthly and yearly fees .
I have 5 CC’s, combined debt of $13,000. The utilization of these CC’s are over 30%. My overall utilization is around 45%. One card is at 70% because it was used for medical bills ($5000). This has been on deferred interest for the past 6 months and this offer is due to expire in August, which will give me a lot of extra interest charges. I need to do something to move the $5k off the credit card and am wondering how a debt consolidation loan would impact my score. I can’t balance transfer anything. Would it be better to just put $5000 on a loan? The other problem I have is that I also need to get a car loan ($6k) in August. I’m concerned about too many things hitting my report but I don’t really have a choice. Recently, one of my CC companies reduced my CL but after a conversation, they reinstated it. I’m anxious to clean up my report. My score is in low 700s. What should I do?
Repairing your credit includes paying off those debt collection accounts. Until you do, you face relentless calls and letters from debt collectors. While you can take action to stop debt collector calls, collection accounts often move from one debt collector to another. When a new collector gets your debt, you’ll have to go through the process of sending letters to stop the calls all over again.

Are you the type of credit-holder who likes to open multiple credit lines at the same time, like store credit cards during the holiday season? This type of financial behavior will impact the fourth factor used to calculate your credit score: new credit lines. With this category, it’s not so much about opening many new credit lines, it’s about how many new credit lines you are opening. In other words, you do NOT want to open 3 to 4 new credit cards at the same time – this will be counter productive to your credit score.

You cannot pay down your debt on your own and you continue falling further and further behind. “It makes sense to file bankruptcy when you can no longer keep up with your bills,” said Leslie H. Tayne, a debt resolution attorney and founder of Tayne Law Group, based in Melville, N.Y. “If commercial creditors are breathing down your neck or if you are in danger of losing your home, it may then make sense to file bankruptcy.”

Along with saving money that you can use for vacations, holidays and retirement, experts suggest putting money regularly into a savings account dedicated to emergencies. If you don't set aside money for emergencies, you can easily get saddled with – and stay in – debt, says Erika Jensen, president of Respire Wealth Management in Houston. "Debt occurs when income minus expenses equals a negative number," she says. "In the absence of savings, that extra spend is going on credit cards. We all know that there will inevitably be months where our expenses exceed our income," she explains. "Everyone knows that scenario. If there isn't any savings, then both of those expenses are covered again by debt."

A quick Google search yielded this terms and conditions sheet, which may be slightly different than the one you’d receive if you applied for a card. According to the one we found, Credit One charges an annual membership fee from $0 to $99. Credit line minimums are between $300 and $500. So you could be paying $99 for a $300 credit limit. APR is relatively standard, but on the high side, with variable 19.15% to 25.24%. Given the high annual fees, we recommend saving your money and using a secured card with no annual fee to begin rebuilding your credit score.

The best way to improve your score is to have good behavior reported every single month. For example, you can take out a secured credit card and use it monthly. Charge no more than 10% of the available credit limit, and pay the balance in full and on time every month. Your credit score will improve as your negative information ages and your credit report fills with positive information.